10.3969/j.issn.2095-1787.2012.02.001
Thoughts of a Travelling Ecologist,3 There are no empty niches
One of the oldest concepts in ecology is that of the niche.The word is borrowed from architecture,more exactly church architecture,where builders created different ”boxes” - usually square-shaped,sometimes with an arched top - in thick church walls by leaving out some bricks,to place objects of decoration into these ”niches”.Controversy surrounded the concept since its introduction into ecology.The American ornithologist Joseph Grinnell,who first used the word,used it to mean ”microhabitat”,the special place where a species can be found (Grinnell,1917).The alternative view of niche,by Charles Elton,emphasises also the ecological role of the species ( Elton,1927 ).In Elton”s analogy,when in the outdoors,seeing a badger,we say ”there goes a badger”,it is as if we said,walking in the village:”there goes the vicar”.
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2012-10-29（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）
共2页
85-86
